


Contingency Plan A: Operation Electric Sheep

by Laylaisthename



Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: F/F, Gen, M/M, its fine he lives in this one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-05
Updated: 2019-01-29
Packaged: 2019-06-22 05:01:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15574344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laylaisthename/pseuds/Laylaisthename
Summary: "He leans his head down against Cayde's chest, hoping for a heartbeat to break the deafening silence.Nothing.Nothing.And then, beneath the sound of Tzi's warnings of danger, behind the sound of Fallen taunting, something he would not have known to listen for had he not spent countless nights lying so near Cayde's heart, is the quiet whirr of machinery, fading, but still here for now. "Sometimes people make fics in denial of character death to cope. Sometimes people do it for other people to  cope.





	1. Chapter 1

The sound of the gunshot reverberates through him, finding his heart and shattering it to pieces.  _"Too late."_  he thinks to himself,  _"I was too late"_  

With an unceremonious thud Cayde's body falls to the floor, and suddenly that is all Ezekiel can see. He doesn't register the Prince's departure, nor does he notice the many Fallen still gathered around. No, all he sees is the lifeless body of his love, so... small, all of a sudden, laying among the rubble. Tzipporah talks to him, saying something about leaving. She was right, of course. She usually is. Her pleas fall on deaf ears, however. 

Slowly Zeke walks up to Cayde, almost as if afraid to wake him and once kneeling before his body Ezekiel notices that he has been crying. No tears fall, water, oil or otherwise, but drops of lightning scatter across the leather armor beneath him. A careful hand reaches out toward Cayde's face, stopping just short of a broken part and pulling back into a fist over his heart. His face seemed to have taken the brunt of the attack, though all across his body points of impact could be made out. A few feet away lay the broken remains of Cayde's Ghost and at the realization that ‘ _T_ _his was_ _it.’_  a wracked sob escapes him. 

"I'm sorry." Zeke whispers softly "I-" his voice chokes up. "It's my fault." He leans his head down against Cayde's chest, hoping for a heartbeat to break the deafening silence. 

Nothing. 

Nothing. 

And then, beneath the sound of Tzi's warnings of danger, behind the sound of Fallen taunting, something he would not have known to listen for had he not spent countless nights lying so near Cayde's heart, is the quiet whirr of machinery, fading, but still here for now. 

 _‘He is still_ _here.’_  

A thousand thoughts pass through Zeke's mind, a dozen possibilities that all lead to the same conclusion: he needed help. Arc Light sparks off the Warlock's body, keeping away the Fallen that would take advantage of his vulnerability. It lashes out, faster and more often, fully forming a storm around Ezekiel once he holds Cayde in his arms. His mentor's warnings are thrown to the winds as the power around him grows and grows; hurricane within, hurricane without. 

With new determination he moves on toward the exit, refusing to stop for anything. His joints ache and the exhaustion from overexertion of his Light was not making the journey easier. Right now, he could not afford to feel either. Especially since the soft hum that came from Cayde grew fainter with the minute. 

"Tzi," he calls out to his Ghost, his voice wary, "the moment we step outside call the ship and send for Lucy. Mark it urgent." 

   
 

*** 

   
 

Lucile knew something was wrong before Ezekiel's message ever sent out. She was on Mars -but not truly- watching the gate to the Black Garden. The Gatelord she had simulated stood watch over it, occasionally taking a shot at her before she forced it to forget she existed again. Now that things had calmed down, Lucy turned back to her studies again, and came here to see if perhaps there was a past version of the Heart for her to study in the Infinite Forest. The Gate Lord seemed more interested in defending the Gate than go through it, and she noted that she'd have to try taking its eye to see if perhaps she could enter the Garden the same way she had once before. That, or she'd have to ask Osiris to help and if honest, Lucile had not forgiven him for leaving her like he did quite yet. 

She pulls out her Ghost. "Milo, get me the Nighthawk, this Gatelord is getting us nowhere. Let's put it out of its misery." 

"Alright." The Ghost replies, "I'm going to have to take off the bones though." 

 _Eager to get rid of us? Will you not heed our warning?_  

 _A pair of truths and a single falsehood, oh bearer mine. That is what we offer._  

By the Traveler, did she hate Ahamkara bones. Ominous and cryptic, always droning on about teeth and hunger and the darkness that lurked within the universe, but never clear enough to make any sense. It was like walking around with a Warlock on your arms. Useful and utterly annoying. She slinks back against the Vex construct. "Hold that thought, Milo." 

 

In the back of her mind she can hear the bones chuckle. 

 _Brother, ally once more, sends his regards._  

 _Dreamer,_ _awakened_ _, the Bearer shall meet._  

 _Light fades deep within the Prison._  

 

"What?" 

"What, what?" Milo asks. 

 _'Right'_  she thought to herself.  _'He can't hear it.'_  

 _No, Bearer, this knowledge is yours alone. We are not blinded by the Light, and now you may see it too._  

"It's nothing." She tells her Ghost. "Now, how about that Gate Lord?" 

   
 

*** 

   
 

Sometime later, as she made her way from the gate to the Infinite Forest toward the Lighthouse, Lucile received a message. 

"It's from Ezekiel." Milo says, "The message is marked as urgent." 

An odd sense of dread washes over her, and Lucy isn't entirely sure why. 

"Of course, patch him through." 

"Lucile! It all happened so fast, and I couldn't stop Uldren, it's all my fault and I don't know what to do." 

The frantic undertone of his voice suddenly clarifies her underlying fears. The last time Ezekiel had sent an urgent message was when Osiris had disappeared. Which meant that this time it could only be something worse. 

"Zeke, what happened?" The comms die down and Lucy can faintly hear a deep, steadying breath on the other side. It was hard to tell with Exo, but it sounded like Ezekiel had been crying. She wasn't sure she had ever heard him do so before. 

 

 _Light fades deep within the Prison._  

The warning repeated in the back of her mind. 

 

"It's Cayde." 


	2. Chapter 2

Ezekiel explains the situation to Lucile, though every few sentences she has to tell him to take a breath. It hurt to hear her brother like this, but she tried her best to keep him on topic. She felt no sorrow or anger over her Vanguard's injuries at the moment, simply because there was no time. 

"Alright," she says, "go to Mars. Take Cayde into the Mindlab. We're going to need processing power and tools and the facility can provide that. Ana has been finding more hidden files. She can keep him stable. I'll meet you there." 

There is no respond from the other side of the line, and with a softened voice Lucy calls out; "Zeke." 

He finally responds after a moment. "Yes?" 

"I will bring him back to you."   
The radio cuts off. 

Lucile rushes toward her ship, transmatting away in a flash of light as it moves overhead. She rematerializes in the pilot's chair and takes hold of the controls. "Plotting a course straight for Mars." Her Ghost says, floating beside her. 

"Scratch that Milo, we're taking a short detour to Venus." Her hands shift over the controls of her ship, bracing herself as it makes its way through the atmosphere. Red skies turn to the deep, unforgiving black of the universe. Their trajectory changes, aimed for Venus, and a short jump later the yellow and green landscape rushes beneath them. 

"Why Venus?" 

"Because," Lucy says, as she carefully lands her ship among the rubble of the external Ishtar labs. "Cayde was shot in the head. Hardware is not exactly the problem here. Any mechanic in the City is able to repair most of his body just as well as I, but next to nothing is known about Exo neural patterns. I'd be just as likely to fry his brain." 

Milo transmats her in front of the main gates to the old facility. He recognized it just as well as she did. This was where she was first resurrected and took her name, here on Venus over two centuries ago. It looked exactly the same as it did back then. "Wouldn't it stand to logic that we'd find information in the Bray labs?" He says. 

"Normally yes, but a lot of the data has been wiped or corrupted. But one of those memory fragments we found said something interesting. I think it was 21 days until Divergence."   
Her old keycard swipes over a panel next to the door, and with only a little protest it opens up. Stale air blows out, and the overgrowth nearly trips her up as she enters. Her words echo through the long empty halls: "The writer talks about a student that continued her research on Venus and sent Ishtar Academy materials over to Mars. And got sent Bray research in return." 

"Oh! That could have been us. It sounds like we're going to have a trip down memory lane then." 

Signs mark her path upward to the facility on-site housing. The actual mechanic labs themselves would be too risky to have sent confidential materials from. So, Lucile figured if she had sent something that could have gotten her hit with a dozen lawsuits she would undoubtedly have hidden it somewhere personal. It doesn't take long to find a door with her name beside it, and again her id-card opens it without too much trouble. The quarters are surprisingly large in comparison to the small studio's most Guardians live in in the Tower. Other than that, it's quite reminiscent of her own room. Research lays scattered around, the kitchen is messy and the bed behind the partition is unmade. 

"Just like home." She says absentmindedly. 

A quick sweep around the rooms reveals nothing of interest, though her Ghost takes care to transmat her old research to the ship. In the back, a door leads out to a small balcony, no bigger than three feet in any dimension. In a moment of habit -no it wasn't habit she had technically never been here before. Maybe clarity made more sense. Wind whips her cloak around harshly as she steps outside. Instinctually she glances to the side, where a clear climbable path upward can be seen in the form of windows, protruding pipes and maintenance ladders. 

Milo follows her outside and tracks her gaze. "You're not seriously going to- aaand you're gone." 

Without hesitation she starts climbing, faint familiarity guiding her hands and feet. She had no idea how long Cayde's body could survive, if it still lived at all. There was no time for doubt. In moments she stands on the roof. The city blinks in the distance, and a Skiff flies off on the horizon, warping away in a blinding light. Behind her in the distance she can see the high rising vex structures, and if she looked closely beyond that toward west, the cave where once an Ahamkara resided could be made out. Lucy would like to come back here someday and watch the sunset. 

"Start the ship up, Milo," she calls out to her Ghost, "we're jumping to Mars the second I gather the data." 

"Roger that." 

It wasn't hard navigating around all the ventilation vents, but Lucy wished there was an easier way to look for an unknown device on over 50,000 sq. ft. of uneven roof. Anxiety builds from the pressure of an unknown time limit, and she can already feel the arc Light bouncing off her fingers. It dissipates when she closes her hand, but it does little to soothe her worries. If she couldn't find the data, she couldn't help Cayde. If she couldn't help Cayde, he would not survive. And if Cayde didn't survive; well, she preferred not to think of it. 

Lost in thought Lucile suddenly finds herself standing in the shade. Which was an odd thing, she realizes, considering the building peeked out over the tree tops, and there weren't any clouds in the sky. She looks ahead and before her stands a small array of satellites, built for long range communication. All except one are pointed a certain way, Earth, if she had to take a guess. Lucy rushes over to the odd one out, angled slightly off from its friends. Her hand reaches out underneath, heart beating with excitement when it closes around a device. A tablet is attached to the satellite. She tries to boot it up, out of curiosity more than that she expects it to. It flickers for a moment before shutting off again, yet it's all the confirmation she needed. 

"Milo," her voice carries over the radio with purpose, "let's go. We have a Vanguard to save."


	3. Chapter 3

His ship passes low, and he picks Cayde back up in his arms just before Tzipporah transmats them down to the ground. Ana jogs up to meet him, and to his surprise Alexandra trails behind her.

"This way," Ana says, motioning for him to follow, "I've cleared some space further in. I'll take point, Alex you help him carry Cayde."

The Titan steps closer, but Zeke reluctantly turns away.

"I... I've got him."

He wasn't quite ready to let go yet. Unexpected thoughtfulness is given as she falls in line behind him, opting to cover their backs rather than push him to take over. He hadn't spent a lot of time with Alex since... ever, he realizes. Especially not without Lucy there too.  _She seems nice enough,_  he thinks to himself,  _very Titan-like._

It’s a short walk to the workshop Ana had set up. It's a fairly big, open room deeper along into Aurora's reach. Countless computers line the walls, and the Hive growth is minimal, restricted to only a few small clusters near the doors in the hallway. All kinds of specialized equipment, marked with Bray imagery and otherwise, lay scattered about. A large metal table lay in the middle with a carpet draped over it in an apparent attempt to make it a bit more comfortable which it did not look at all.

Ana immediately starts poking around the tools searching for a specific something. "You can put him on the table." She says, pulling out a particularly sharp looking buzz saw and putting it to the side. Reluctantly he does as she says. He lays Cayde down very carefully, promptly ignoring the hollow reverberating 'clang' as metal hits barely-covered-metal. In the silence he listens for the almost inaudible -but still present- whirr of life coming from him. Ana bounces around from the nearby interface to Cayde, attaching all sorts of wires and cables, already starting with the smaller issues while they wait.

***

"Alright. I'll see you soon." Alex says. She turns to the room, "Lucy just passed the stratosphere, she'll be here any minute."

"She'll be just in time then," Ana's voice carries from beneath the table. "I don't know how long I can keep this up. I made weapons, not Exo."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Zeke asks.

Ana's fingers hovers over the tablet in her hands, eyes darting between three different screens, not turning to look as Zeke as she talks to him. "No, his body is... stable, for now." Abruptly she turns around, "Now where did I leave- ah! There it is."

Footsteps approach in the hallway, and the soft smile that plays on the Titan's lips- somehow it reminded him of the way Cayde smiled when he thought no one was looking- is enough confirmation that Lucile had arrived. Her grey cloak flutters behind her as she almost runs toward the table with a small tablet tucked beneath her arm. She stops before Zeke, her voice soft and apologetic,

"I'm so sorry, Ezekiel. But I'm going to bring him back to you. I promise." She puts the tablet down on the table beside Cayde's head and moves to get the necessary tools as it boots up. Under the touch of the Hunter's fingers it unlocks, and after some searching a blueprint is projected in a confusing tangle of orange light. The patterns seemed familiar, but from where Zeke didn't know.

He asks again, "What can I help with?"

"Actually..." he recognized this voice. This was Lucy's 'I am going to tell you something you won't like' voice.

"Lucy..."

"Zeke, it's nothing personal, but it's probably best if you weren't here for this."

"I am not leaving his side."

"You would just be in the way. Go rest. Take a nap. You've been under a lot of stress."

Tzi appears on his shoulder. "You should listen to her, Zeke."

He considers it for a moment. Ezekiel had been ignoring the pain and fatigue. His Light was still recovering from overexertion, not to mention how long he's been up on his feet, running through the Reef. But then his eyes fall upon Cayde's face; the slight slack jaw of his mouth, the chrome peeking out beneath the blue paint, the usually bright, blue eyes that were dimmed, staring away at nothing.

"I can't. I won't. What if you require me for something? Neither of you are Exo, I can provide a unique input."

"Luca," Ana calls out, "I'm going to need you to look at this."

She looks back and forth between him and Ana, before letting out a sigh. He knew if he pushed a little harder she could be convinced. He'd be here when Cayde would wake up. "Look," she starts, "I don't have the time to argue with you." Lucy turns to the Titan standing in the doorway. "Alex, could you...?" She nudges her head towards him. He'd feel offended if he wasn't already seething.

Alexandra gives Lucy a nod and makes her way over to him. Zeke readies himself, charging sparks between his fingers to push her away at any moment. He would not be dragged out of the room like some child. Well over half a century old, not counting years of supposed experience before he was brought back as a Warlock, and they were treating him like some kinder-guardian. When Alex is within reach, he throws his hands out, channeling his anger into an Arc strike. She recoils, obviously hurt from the impact, but pushes through, surprising Ezekiel yet again when the Titan pulls him in for a hug.

The anger melts away. The lightning in his hands find their ground and subconsciously he returns the gesture. For a moment the weight of the world was off his shoulders.

"It's okay to be scared." She says, her voice low and steadying.

When she starts pulling away he is almost reluctant to let go. After a deep breath Ezekiel composes himself.

"C'mon." Alexandra is already standing in the doorway when she says this. He casts back a last look. Lucy and Ana were talking among each other, assigning tasks and assessing the extent of the repairs that needed to be done. Cayde's faceplates were already removed, and parts of his armor were cut away to reach the necessary systems within his body. Zeke's eye gets caught on Cayde's cloak, draped unceremoniously over a chair nearby. Other than some dirt from lying on the floor it seemed relatively unharmed. His hands run over the familiarly rugged fabric. If they would not let him stay, then fine. But Zeke would at least take the cloak with him. His own cloak -a gift from his sister- is put away by Tzi as the black fabric clicks into place. It falls nicely across his shoulders, weighted in a comfortable way, fluttering softly when the lab doors close behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a fraud and a liar and probably wont finish the next chapter anytime soon because writing is stupid. So, instead I figured I might as well post everything I've got so far.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Im not even gonna bother apologizing about being late just take it

  
The walk out is silent, and painfully so. Once outside the ambient sounds of Mars do little to create comfort; every sandy step is noticeably loud, and every Hive screech a discomforting cry. Mars was catching up with the Dreadnaught for being Alexandra's least favorite place in the Solar system. Fighting a Worm God was still less worse than fighting Oryx had been, even if just by a margin. She watches as Ezekiel pulls out Sunshot, his grip a lot tighter than can be comfortable, an stalk off toward the nearest enemy on his tracker. She figured right now it would be better not to push too much, take the Warlock's mind off things. Problem was, she didn't know a whole lot about Ezekiel. Alex had seen him run around the Crucible a lot, and he once confided in her that he was Ikora's chief Hidden agent after a night of drinks, though she wasn't too sure how much of a truth that was.  
The Hive outside the facility detonate in a satisfying explosions of solar power as the shots find their marks, and soon enough none are left stalking around. He looks around for a moment before fixating on a point far off in the distance. She follows his gaze to the empty landscape.

In a spark of Light her Ghost appears above her shoulder. "I can't imagine what he must feel like."

_Fire. The City burns and crumbles around her and she can't do anything to stop it. Too weak to save her Ghost, too weak to save herself. A familiar cloak peeks out from beneath the rubble and the hollowness in her heart comes from more than the loss of Light alone._

Alexandra releases the death-grip on her rifle as the memory fades. "I can." She says quietly. The breath she unknowingly held is let out. "Ezekiel," She calls, "I needed to gather some Seraphite. Want to come along?"

His Ghost responds before he can. "Of course we will join you, instead of standing here and mope all day. Right, Zeke?"

"Of course." He echoes back.

***

With a crack of red Seraph energy the yellow crystal snaps off. Nazar scans the shard in her hand, and sends preliminary readings to her HUD. Energy levels were a bit on the low side, but the crystal roster formation was clean as they come. She turns to her Ghost.  
"Bring this batch in, but put it in the B-box. We'll need to work out some energy transfers before it can be used."

In a flash of Light the crystals are pulled out of the relic iron, and transmatted to her ship  
"Aaaaand... done." Her Ghost says. "I think we have enough for the sword now. I bet this is going to be our coolest one yet."

Tzipporah floats into view, her shell a warm orange with streaks of yellow that made her look like a small rendition of the sun. "That's what you've been collecting it for?"

"Yeah." She can't help but smile. "The Seraphite itself is too brittle to use as base for the blade, but the energy inside is very potent. It's the same stuff that's inside of Sleeper Simulant."

"You make weapons?" It was the first thing Zeke had said since they left the Futurescape.

"I do. It helps keep my mind off..." _Your Traveler's Light cannot reach you here. I will Take your world as you took Crota!_ "...things. It has mostly been swords so far, but I'm looking into making a hand cannon soon. Shaxx taught me how to make these a while back."

"Ooh!" Tzipporah exclaims "Show me the goods."

Nazar drops two swords into Alex' hands. "Already ahead of you." Their designs are simple, sleek: one was long, a testament of finesse though its strength wasn't nothing either. The other, broader, two-edged, something to show off versatility

She holds them both out towards Ezekiel, hilt first. He considers for a moment before taking the longer of the two swords.

His posture changes as soon as his hand slips around the hilt. He lowers his center of gravity, balancing among the sand and ice and with a glint in her eyes Alex mirrors his movement. She taps his sword- once, twice- and takes a step back expectantly, inviting Zeke to attack.

The rasp of metal against metal was like music to her ears. His defenses were very good, each strike she threw at him was parried with ease. Slowly the movements became familiar: like a dance in it's own right.  
"I'm... sorry. About before."

"It's alright." She catches his blade and pushes back. "There's nothing to apologize for."

"I lashed out-"

"With good reason. Didn't hurt all that much anyway."  
It hurt pretty bad.

Ezekiel responds with a hum, something that almost could be mistaken for a laugh, though it didn't reach his eyes.

As the fight went on Ezekiel's movements became sloppy -not tired, but distracted. Not moving his stance right, aiming too high or too low. When he seems particularly out of it, she twists the blade around with enough force to disarm him. The blade goes flying, lightly embedding itself into the ground. With a tug of Light it floats back into Ezekiel's hand. She sits down on a particularly soft looking dune of sand and ice, and holds the blade outward for her Ghost to put it away. Alex pats the ground next to her motioning for Zeke to sit too. He flips the sword to hand it to her hilt first, but she shakes her head.

"Keep it."

"What?" Tzipporah says "As a reminder of his humbling defeat?"

"Ezekiel could've beaten me any other day, I bet. So I'd like a rematch once we're past this."

He sits down next to her. "How are you so cavalier about all of this, Alex."

"Well, I can't say much for Ana because I haven't known her long. But Commander Zavala trusts in her capabilities, even if he does not always trust her intentions. Lucy though, I've known her for as long as I've been a Guardian. And from what I gather so have you."

"Not quite the whole time, but yeah."

"Well, I may be a bit prejudiced, but, I believe in her, both of them. I believe that Lucy and Ana can save him."

"And that's it? A blind trust that everything will be alright? I can't- won't just sit here and do nothing." Ezekiel stands up and starts making his way back toward the facility. "I will offer my help again."

Alex doesn't move from her spot, and calls out: "You trust Lucy too, don't you?"

He stops right in his tracks. "With my life."

"Then do the same for Cayde."

"But-"

"But, nothing." Alex cuts him off, "She wouldn't have sent you out if it wasn't the best choice for the situation. And Lucy asked me to keep you out." She stands up and walks toward him. "I will do what she asked me to."

"You wouldn't win that fight."

"Which is why I'm hoping to avoid it." She can see the conflict reflected in his movements. One foot toward her, the other positioned toward the Futurescape. One hand hovers just above the Sunshot in the small of his back, and while Alex tries not to make it obvious she prepares herself for either outcome. He was right, she probably would not win. But she shouldn't have won the sword fight either. Ezekiel was exhausted, anyone could see. Tzipporah hovers above his shoulder, just beside his ear. Alex can't hear what she is whispering to him, but after a moment he pulls his hand away from the gun. Ezekiel starts moving toward the Futurescape again and she moves to intercept him.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to try to go to the lab before we get news back. Tzi landed my ship out that way. You're welcome to come along, Alex."

She nods, falling in step beside the Warlock. It's quiet for a moment until Ezekiel speaks up.

"I just- don't like this feeling. It's not helplessness, but..." the words trail off into silence.

"You feel lost." Alex says, matter-of-fact, "I... went through the same thing during Towerfall. And then a small friend came along and told me we could find our way again. All I'd need to do is allow the help. You carried Cayde this far, now let them bring him home."

"The Red War wasn't kind to any of us, was it."

"No, but it also made me realize how much I care for Lucy. So, I guess it wasn't all bad."

***

Zeke sits on top of his ship, feet tucked beneath him, with his hands resting in his lap. Alex asked if he wanted to take a nap, but sleep never did come easy. Too many visions haunted him in the night- especially when he tried to sleep alone. And especially now he refused to. Because he knew if the Deep Stone Crypt decided to make an appearance, that Cayde would be there.

Zeke would have to watch as he died again, but at his hands this time and that thought alone kept him wide awake.

So instead he turned to meditation, focussing on his Light as Ikora had taught him, and very carefully avoiding thoughts on what happened in the prison. Of course this meant that it was all he could think of.

Sundance's Light ripping through him. It still felt like a part of her Light lingered within him. There had been an emptiness before, a part lost, a connection severed. But Zeke only now noticed that there came something else in its place. Something new but familiar somehow. He reached out and grasped it and the familiarity grew into warmth and laughter but as he held on it quickly turned into something else. A bright, burning, anger.

The memory takes hold and he sees Cayde again, broken on the ground, and ahead stand nine figures. Eight Barons. Varying in height, all seemingly armed to the teeth, and in their midst, a ninth figure. He stares back at the bright orange eyes of the Awoken Prince, who waves the Ace of Spades around like a new toy. The orange is all he sees, heat all that Ezekiel feels.

Someone calls his name and his eyes snap open. He can still feel the Light brimming between his fingers, and it comes out all at once when he sees those orange eyes again. It forms as fire in his hand growing brighter and brighter until the flames burn blue. It wraps itself into a hand cannon, all the Light poured into a single bullet and Zeke fires.

It takes a moment for him to reorient himself, and a small pang of guilt hits him, when he sees Alex' Ghost busy in bringing her back. The Titan reforms not a moment later.

"What was-" she shakes her head, "y'know what, doesn't matter. Lucy called."

***

Ezekiel is all but running down the hallways. He rounds the corner two doors down from the lab when it's doors slide open. Light falls into the hallway around a silhouette, and Zeke can hear his sister yell something from inside but he doesn't care to hear what because standing there in the doorframe, was Cayde.

His eyes widen for a moment when he sees Zeke -one of them was cracked and didn't light up right- and Cayde sloppily tries to strike a sexy pose that doesn't quite work out. His face is still scraped and he is missing an arm and Ezekiel can hear the machinery inside his body working overtime to stay upright, or maybe it was the sound of his own.

"Cayde get back on the damn table." Lucy yells. "You're going to fall apart standing like that."

But Cayde simply pretends he didn't hear her. "Hey there, hot-stuff. I gotta say, that cloak looks a lot better on you than I imagined it would."

Zeke lets out a small laugh and plays along. "Yeah? Do you imagine me in your cloak that much then?"

"'Course I do, imagine you in all kinds of things. Like my arms- uh, arm for example. Damn it that would've gone so much smoother if," Cayde raises his voice, " _someone_ didn't take so long to calibrate the receptive nerves on my hand. Hey!" He looks to Zeke, "She's flipping me off with my own hand, can you believe it? Picking on a recovering man like that."

Ezekiel covers the distance in two steps. He grabs Cayde close, who wraps his hand around Zeke's waist. After a long moment he pulls back a little, resting their heads against each other and a small spark zaps between them.  
"I'm so sorry about Sundance, Cayde. I felt it when she... and you, I wasn't there to help, I ran as fast as I could-"

"Shhhh, it's okay now. I may not be as handsome as before, but somewhere along the line you must have fallen for my dashing personality and clever jokes." He gives Zeke a quick kiss. "I'm here, I'm okay. Some of my memories are a bit fuzzy but you can bet there's nothing that could make me forget you."

"You're going to make me cry again, saying things like that."

"And we can't have that, can we. I heard you carried me all the way here. Now, mind doing that again? I can't feel my legs anymore." Zeke can't help but laugh.

Alex swoops in and picks the two of them up like it's nothing. Reluctantly they let go, and she places Cayde back on the table, where Ana starts working on reattaching his arm. Zeke is put on the ground, and he takes a seat beside the table. Cayde uses his good arm to reach out and clasp his hand, and the other to flip Lucy off once he has control of it again.  
It takes a while still, until Cayde was fully healed, but not for a moment did the two let go of each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In all seriousness tho life is wack and Im proud of myself for finishing this finally because I have a habit of giving up on these things. A belated happy new year! And all that good stuff. 
> 
> Rest in peace Cayde you beautiful bastard, the Vanguard curse is a mean one

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing this right after the first Forsaken trailer because damnit if Bungie won't let him live I'll make up a universe where he does. Don't ask about the title I just thought it sounded funny. More on the way, and it'll probably clock in on about 4500 words and should be done before Forsaken comes out.


End file.
